We are delighted to announce that the Education and Training Committee has agreed to fund a number of mentored places for women in the nuclear industry. The scheme, known as MentorSET, is a well-established programme offered by the Women’s Engineering Society (WES) and will be facilitated by Women in Nuclear.
There are up to 15 mentee places available for the first tranche and another 15 for the second tranche to start in March/April 2019. However, we can also nominate mentors at no extra cost. Mentors can be either male or female and training is provided to them as well as to the mentees.
Ideally, mentors should also be from the nuclear industry but if there are insufficient volunteers to become mentors then the MentorSET programme can provide them from a pool of other STEM-related mentors.
Criteria for eligibility as a mentee
- This programme is open to women only
- Candidates must be a fully-paid up member of the Nuclear Institute and WiN
- Candidates must currently be undertaking a technical role (either as a scientist, engineer, technologist or mathematician) within the Nuclear Industry. But priority will be given to Engineers if places are limited.
- Candidates must not have partaken in the MentorSET programme previously.
- Candidates must have been working in the nuclear industry for 5+ years.
- Candidates must be able to commit to support the programme for a minimum of 12 months.
- Spaces on the scheme are limited to a maximum of 5 mentees per organisation.
- Candidates will be offered acceptance on the programme on a first come, first served basis providing they fit the above criteria.
Why join a mentoring scheme?
Mentoring allows you to focus on how you can forward your career and overcome work-related issues. A mentor can provide guidance, support and space for you to think. Women in STEM face many issues and you may need a mentor with particular expertise or experience rather than one who has followed exactly the same career path.
MentorSET can help you with:
- Career planning and progression
- Links to reduce isolation in a male-dominated professional environment
- Information about returning after a career break and advice about obtaining a work/life balance
- Networking
- Support if you are coping with health problems or disabilities alongside a professional career
- Development of new skills such as leadership or public speaking.
Mentoring partnerships usually last one or two years, but if you are looking for a quick boost or help with learning a specific skill, MentorSET can help there too. We encourage women who are mid-career to apply to be both a mentor and a mentee. You do not need to be at the top of your profession to be a MentorSET mentor and you will gain more by being both a mentor and a mentee.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q How long will the mentors be available?
We ask our mentors to make commitments of twelve months in order to ensure that the mentee is able to fully benefit from the relationship. If a mentor must leave the relationship early, we request at least one month's notice in order to search for a replacement mentor with similar background.
Q What should I do if my mentoring relationship isn't going well?
We encourage letting the mentor know about the situation and contacting a programme administrator as soon as possible. We will provide our full support to resolve the situation in a positive and satisfactory manner.
How do I apply?
Please complete this short survey with your details – for both mentors and mentees. If you have any questions on the scheme contact donna.connor@sellafieldsites.com. If the first tranche is oversubscribed we will hold your details on file for the second tranche.